Gas grills utilize fuel tanks (e.g., propane tanks) that are commonly situated in a lower cabinet or other position located below the grilling rack. As such, during operation of gas grills, users frequently must turn on and off the propane tanks, in order to reduce the likelihood of gas leakage when the grill is not in use. This often involves the user's routinely bending down to turn a knob on a valve that controls flow of the fuel from the fuel tank into the grill (hereinafter referred to as a “valve control knob”). For many grill users, this regular bending motion and reaching around to access the valve control knob is awkward and can cause stress and strain on the back (e.g., lower back) and arms, scraped knees, dirty clothes, as well as other discomforts and inconveniences resulting from reaching around or into a dark, sometimes dirty, cabinet. Such inconvenient bending motion or reaching around to access the valve control knob may be particularly troublesome for handicapped or physically impaired users.
Some gas grill makers have attempted to solve this problem by providing a secondary valve situated downstream of the valve control knob. The second valve is placed at a convenient location, such as on the front face of the grill. However, many users feel that this safety measure is insufficient, and that additional precaution is needed in the form of physically turning the valve control knob on the fuel tank (e.g., propane tank). Generally, due to the perceived risk of gas leakage, users feel uncomfortable with allowing the valve control knob to remain in an “on” position for an extended period of time during which the gas grill is not being used. Moreover, allowing the valve control knob to remain in an “on” position while the grill is unattended poses a safety concern and increases the risk of grill fires, which cause an average of ten civilian deaths, 140 injuries and $96 million in property damage annually. As such, current solutions fail to provide a suitable mechanism for physically turning the valve control knob of a fuel tank (e.g., propane tank) of a gas grill between an “on” and an “off” position.